


A Day at the Plaza

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2018-10-03
Packaged: 2019-07-24 10:42:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16173455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Gwendolyn spends her birthday with her horse-turned-human Soul Steed. Gwendolyn and Gwaihir belong to hobbithorsewhat on tumblr.





	A Day at the Plaza

Gwendolyn listened intently as she waited outside for her Soul Steed to be ready to leave. After many initial incidents involving Gwaihir forgetting to put clothes on (it was never intentional, he was just still used to being a horse, bless him), she’d decided that her best bet would be to wait outside while he got dressed. She still waited, though, for the-

“Gwendolyn, did I put the pants on the right way this time? This hole goes at the back for my tail, right?” And there it was. Gwen laughed at the intrusion on the peaceful morning, opening the door and stepping back inside. She closed her eyes.

“You’d better actually have them on,” said Gwen. She heard some rustling, shuffling noises, and then Gwaihir’s voice again.

“Yes,” said Gwaihir. “You can open your eyes now.” Gwen did so, smirking and almost snorting out a laugh when she saw her Soul Steed standing in the middle of the living room with his pants very much around the wrong way.

“How many times do I have to tell you that you don’t have a tail in this form?” asked Gwen, giggling at the look of surprise on his face. Gwaihir constantly looked like that. He made a noise that was supposed to be a nicker, still unused to laughing. Gwen shook her head. “Put them on the other way AFTER I TURN AROUND.” Gwaihir’s hands stopped where they’d been on the waistband of his pants, and Gwen turned around quickly so she wouldn’t see him. The poor dear, he could manage shirts and sweaters just fine, but pants? A complete mystery. At least he’d gotten used to underwear, though. Eventually. After too much mental scarring.

“Okay, I think I’m ready now,” said Gwaihir.

“Zip up your fly,” said Gwen patiently. She heard him do that, and then turned around again. He was grinning, looking quite pleased with himself.

“Do I look okay?” asked Gwaihir.

“You look ready for a day on the town,” said Gwen. Truthfully, she was a little concerned about having Gwaihir wear jeans, considering he still had trouble with pants sometimes, but hopefully it would be fine.

“Shall we ride or take the bus?” asked Gwaihir. “I want to run.” He bounced on the balls of his feet, which Gwen smiled fondly at.

“I know you want to ride or run, but the bus is the only way to get into Jorvik City at the moment,” said Gwendolyn. Gwaihir pouted, his shoulders sagging.

“I don’t like the bus,” he muttered to his feet, which were still noticeably bare.

“I know,” said Gwendolyn. “But horses, unfortunately, aren’t allowed in Jorvik City.”

“That’s stupid,” said Gwaihir with a huff.

“A lot of people would agree with you,” said Gwendolyn. “But come on, put your shoes and socks on and let’s get going. I want to spend the entire day in the plaza if I can.” Her eyes gleamed with excitement at the idea. Aideen’s Plaza was one of her favourite places in Jorvik, if only for the sheer reverence and respect for Aideen that she felt there.

Gwaihir found some boots to put on, grumbling the whole time about how he wished he could just run everywhere barefoot, and then followed Gwendolyn out of the house and around the corner to the bus stop at Fort Pinta.

“It’s so narrow,” Gwaihir complained of the stone bridge as they crossed it. “Do you remember how many times we nearly ran off it?”

“All too clearly,” said Gwendolyn, remembering the sheer panic she’d felt the first time she’d ridden over this bridge. If only they could live somewhere safer, like Aideen’s Plaza where her heart truly sang, but Fort Pinta wasn’t a bad place to live. 

“Do we not wait for the bus anymore?” asked Gwaihir as Gwendolyn reached her hand out towards the pole of the bus sign. Magic tingled in the air.

“Nope, as of last Wednesday, we call for the bus now,” said Gwendolyn, touching the pole. Gwaihir shied away from the sound of the rapidly-approaching bus, almost falling over his own feet and subsequently almost taking a tumble off the cliff, but Gwendolyn reached out and caught his hand.

“Thank you,” said Gwaihir, wrapping his arms around her in a hug which Gwendolyn gladly returned.

“Hey, I couldn’t lose my soul because of his clumsy feet, now, could I?” Gwendolyn teased. In hindsight, that might have been the intention of the Dark Riders turning him into a human in the first place, but Gwendolyn chose not to dwell on such dark thoughts on her birthday. Gwaihir tried to nicker with his human mouth, but it sounded strange, causing Gwendolyn to dissolve into giggles again.

“Let’s just get this bus trip over with,” said Gwaihir, shuddering as the bus came into view. He stepped onto it, gripping tightly to the handrail because stairs were difficult, and managed to find a seat. Gwendolyn sat beside him after greeting the driver, settling back into her seat and content to wait until the drive was done. Gwaihir, meanwhile, looked nervous, on edge, his eyes wide.

“Hey, relax,” said Gwendolyn, taking his hand and stroking the back of it with her thumb. “It’s okay, we’ll be there before you know it. It’s just like taking a trailer.”

“But we’re not securely fastened in,” said Gwaihir, his eyes still huge as he looked around. “What if the driver crashes or brakes suddenly?”

“Easy there,” said Gwendolyn, repeating the soothing motion with her thumb. “Just try to relax. Buses are perfectly safe, I’ve taken them heaps of times before.”

“Really?” asked Gwaihir.

“Yes,” said Gwendolyn, nodding. Gwaihir settled somewhat after that, soaking in the presence of his Soul Rider. She always managed to calm him, just as he always managed to calm her. Such was the force of their bond.

At last, the bus stopped, and Gwaihir bolted to his shaky feet. Gwendolyn made him wait, though, until other passengers had passed, and then they joined the string of people who walked off the bus and onto the city streets. Jorvik City was unlike other cities in the world in that it was beautiful, even here, at the depot where bus travellers shuffled onto trams that departed to various locations. Gwendolyn took Gwaihir to the one headed for Aideen’s Plaza, taking a seat with him again on the tram. The whole time, they never let go of each other’s hands, no matter how many people probably looked at them and got the wrong idea.

“I like this one better,” said Gwaihir, watching the way the tram travelled along the lines. “I know it won’t run off the track or run into anything.”

“That’s good,” said Gwendolyn, patting his hand and making a mental note that Gwaihir was calmer on trams. He relaxed even without her help this time, watching as the scenery changed gradually from city centre to older architecture. The ambience changed, too, less cars here and more people going for strolls or bike rides or walking their dogs.

“This is a nice area,” Gwaihir declared once the tram finally reached its destination and the passengers all disembarked. “It smells nicer.” He took a deep breath, as did Gwendolyn, breathing in the wonderful scents of baking and grass and warm sandstone. Yes, she very much liked it here. She could even detect a hint of fruit from the fruit seller in the plaza, and the tang of water on gold coming from the statue.

“We could live here if there was a stable here,” said Gwendolyn, moving away from the tram and heading towards the fountain in the centre of the plaza. Her feet seemed to guide her there, as though there were an invisible force pulling her towards the statue. The same seemed to be happening to Gwaihir, too, he didn’t even stumble on the sometimes-uneven cobblestones. It was an old area, after all, so some wear and tear was to be expected. And yet, they came out from between the two tall buildings unscathed, though they still held hands. Gwaihir stood still, though, staring up at the statue in awe.

“Aideen,” he said, his voice little more than a breath.

“Yeah,” said Gwendolyn, beaming as she, too, looked up at the statue, sunlight glinting off the golden surface and dazzling them. “It was like that when I first saw it, too.”

“Are we allowed to go near it?” asked Gwaihir, though he was still unable to tear his gaze away. A wind played with his white hair that Gwendolyn had painstakingly brushed for him this morning, a task that had carried over between forms for the simple purpose of Gwaihir liked it and wasn’t quite sure how to use hands yet.

“Of course,” said Gwendolyn, tugging him across the (little-used) road and up the few stairs towards the fountain. Gwaihir stumbled a little now, but in shock. He made a noise that would have been a whinny had he been a horse, but it was a little like a squeal coming from his human throat.

“But the reverence,” Gwaihir protested, his eyes wide as they drew closer.

“It’s okay,” said Gwendolyn, looking back at him as he stopped dead halfway to the fountain. “There are benches around the fountain for sitting on. I’ve even heard that some people make wishes in the fountain, and, if their heart is pure and their wish is purely unselfish, the wish will be granted.” Gwaihir looked astounded, his mouth hanging open in shock. Gwendolyn smirked, going on. “And some even say that the water here is enchanted. That if you drink it, it will cure you of any ailment. No matter how dire.”

“Can such a place truly exist?” asked Gwaihir. “A place in the city, holding such enchantments, without humans sullying it?”

“Yes,” said Gwendolyn. “Maybe Aideen’s Plaza is protected or something, maybe what I just told you is nothing more than myths, but this place definitely exists. And I know that you can feel the magic too.”

“I can,” said Gwaihir, taking another step towards the fountain. He took another step, and another, until he was standing right at the lip of the fountain, a hand reached out hesitantly as if to touch the statue. It was so quiet here that Gwendolyn could only hear the splashing of the water, the chirping of the birds, and the sound of her own heartbeat. And then, beneath that, she could just faintly detect something else. Something new. Almost like the song of a harp.

“Can you hear that?” Gwendolyn murmured as she stepped up beside her Soul Steed.

“Aideen’s melody,” said Gwaihir, closing his eyes. Gwendolyn nodded, feeling her skin prickle as though she were on the verge of something. And then, on a whim, she took Gwaihir’s hand.

The music seemed to get louder, the song of the harp becoming part of Gwendolyn, every drop of her blood, every breath that she took. It swirled around her, within her, just as she knew it swirled around and within Gwaihir. It almost took her breath away with its intensity.

Gwendolyn wasn’t sure how long they stood there, hand in hand, feeling the song course through them. But the complaints of her stomach forced her to open her eyes. The sun hadn’t moved much in the sky, still glittering on the water and the statue, but Gwendolyn felt as though eternities must have passed. She felt ancient and yet young at the same time, the same way that Gwaihir felt.

“Lunch,” said Gwaihir, opening his eyes at last and turning away from the statue. The spell broken, Gwendolyn felt everything return to her- the feeling of the warm sun on her skin, the feeling of solid ground beneath her feet, and, most prominently, her hunger.

“That sounds like a wise plan,” said Gwendolyn, squeezing his hand. “I’ll get you some fries.” Gwaihir grinned, giving another little squeal, and almost dragged Gwendolyn behind him as he raced over to the Harp Cafe.

Despite the name, the cafe at Aideen’s Plaza did, indeed, sell fries, though it also sold the delectable cakes and ice creams that Gwaihir gazed at hungrily, his nose pressed to the glass. Gwendolyn dragged him away laughing, though, and found a table for them to sit at.

Gwendolyn ordered lunch for them, including a large plate of fries for Gwaihir, and they chatted while they ate. Despite what had just happened at the fountain, though, that didn’t come up in conversation. It seemed more like something to talk about with the druids, or something to discuss in the privacy of their home. Here, they only talked about idle things: the weather, the parts of human life that Gwaihir enjoyed, the human things that Gwendolyn had been enjoying lately like TV shows and movies and books.

“Cake, I should make you a cake,” said Gwaihir once they’d finished eating their lunch. Gwendolyn laughed so hard at the idea that she almost sprayed soda out of her nose.

“Gwaihir, you burned toast this morning,” said Gwendolyn once she’d managed to get herself under control. Gwaihir looked down at his plate, tapping his pointer fingers together.

“Right,” said Gwaihir. “Then I will buy you one.” He looked at her hopefully, and Gwendolyn nodded. With a little squee of excitement, Gwaihir got up, running over to the cafe with some of the money that Gwendolyn had given him. He returned with a plate holding a slice of chocolate cake and some ice cream. Gwendolyn beamed at him.

“Thank you,” said Gwendolyn as he placed the plate in front of her.

“Happy birthday,” said Gwaihir, grinning at her as he took his seat again. “We should go for a run later.”

“To work off all those fries?” Gwendolyn teased, pointing at Gwaihir’s empty plate. Gwaihir flared his nostrils, which would have been a snort on his horsey face.

“And that cake,” said Gwaihir, gesturing to it with his whole hand. He still hadn’t exactly mastered pointing. Gwendolyn dreaded the day she might sit him down in front of a computer, though that might be amusing.

“Yes,” said Gwendolyn, taking a slice of the cake with her fork. It was quite delicious, especially when paired with the vanilla ice cream.


End file.
